NOWBY

CHUCK

WENDIG

SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY™ PRESENTS

An Evil Hat Productions Publicationwww.evilhat.com

feedback@evilhat.com

First published in 2012 by Evil Hat Productions

Editor: John AdamusProofreading: Amanda Valentine

Art: Christian N. St. PierreDesign: Fred Hicks

Branding: Chris Hanrahan

Copyright © 2012 Evil Hat Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.

Dinocalypse™, Spirit of the Century™, Evil Hat Productions,

and the Evil Hat and Spirit of the Century™ logos are trademarks owned by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-61317-004-5 Softcover ISBN: 978-1-61317-003-8

Kindle ISBN: 978-1-61317-005-2ePub ISBN: 978-1-61317-006-9

iBooks ISBN: 978-1-61317-007-6

Printed in the USA

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic, mechnical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior express permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this work are fictional. Any resemblance to real people, events, reptiles,

apes, or evil masterminds is purely coincidental, but kinda hilarious.

THIS BOOK WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF...

Michael Bowman and a cast of hundreds, including “The Cap’n” Wayne Coburn, “The Professor” Eric Smailys, @aroberts72, @syntheticbrain, A. David Pinilla, Aaron Jones, Aaron Jurkis, Adam & Jayce Roberts, Adam B. Ross, Adam Rajski, Adan Tejada, AJ Medder, AJT, Alan Bellingham, Alan Hyde, Alan Winterrowd, Alex, Alien Zookeeper, Alisha “hostilecrayon” Miller, Alosia Sellers, Amy Collins, Amy Lambzilla Hamilton, Andrew Beirne, Andrew Byers, Andrew Guerr, Andrew Jensen, Andrew M. Kelly, Andrew Nicolle, Andrew Watson, Andy Blanchard, Andy Eaton, Angela Korra’ti, Anonymous Fan, Anthony Laffan, Anthony R. Cardno, April Fowler, Arck Perra, Ariel Pereira, Arnaud Walraevens, Arthur Santos Jr, Ashkai Sinclair, Autumn and Sean Stickney, Axisor, Bailey Shoemaker Richards, Barac Wiley, Barbara Hasebe, Barrett Bishop, Bartimeus, Beena Gohil, Ben Ames, Ben Barnett, Ben Bement, Ben Bryan, Bill Dodds, Bill Harting, Bill Segulin, Blackcoat, Bo Saxon, Bo Williams, Bob Bretz, Brandon H. Mila, Bret S. Moore, Esq., Brian Allred, Brian E. Williams, Brian Engard, Brian Isikoff, Brian Kelsay @ripcrd, Brian Nisbet, Brian Scott Walker, Brian Waite, Brian White, Bryan Sims, Bryce Perry, C.K. “Velocitycurve” Lee, Calum Watterson, Cameron Harris, Candlemark & Gleam, Carl Rigney, Carol Darnell, Carolyn Butler, Carolyn White, Casey & Adam Moeller, Catherine Mooney, CE Murphy, Centurion Eric Brenders, Charles Paradis, Chase Bolen, Cheers, Chip & Katie, Chris Bekofske, Chris Callahan, Chris Ellison, Chris Hatty, Chris Heilman, Chris Matosky, Chris Newton, Chris Norwood, Chris Perrin, Christian Lindke, Christina Lee, Christine Lorang, Christine Swendseid, Christopher Gronlund, Chrystin, Clark & Amanda Valentine, Clay Robeson, Corey Davidson, Corinne Erwin, Craig Maloney, Crazy J, Cyrano Jones, Dan Conley, Dan N, Dan Yarrington, Daniel C. Hutchison, Daniel Laloggia, Danielle Ingber, Darcy Casselman, Darren Davis, Darrin Shimer, Daryl Weir, Dave BW, Dave Steiger, David & Nyk, David Hines, David M., David Patri, Declan Feeney, Deepone, Demelza Beckly, Derrick Eaves, Dimitrios Lakoumentas, DJ Williams, DL Thurston, Doug Cornelius, Dover Whitecliff, Drew, drgnldy71, DU8, Dusty Swede, Dylan McIntosh, Ed Kowalczewski, edchuk, Edouard “Francesco”, Edward J Smola III, Eleanor-Rose Begg, Eli “Ace” Katz, Ellie Reese, Elly & Andres, Emily Poole, Eric Asher, Eric Duncan, Eric Henson, Eric Lytle, Eric Paquette, Eric Smith, Eric Tilton, Eric B Vogel, Ernie Sawyer, Eva, Evan Denbaum, Evan Grummell, Ewen Albright, Explody, Eyal Teler, Fabrice Breau, Fade Manley, Fidel Jiron Jr., Frank “Grayhawk” Huminski, Frank Jarome, Frank Wuerbach, Frazer Porritt, Galen, Gareth-Michael Skarka, Garry Jenkins, Gary Hoggatt, Gary McBride, Gavran, Gemma Tapscott, Glenn, Greg Matyola, Greg Roy, Gregory Frank, Gregory G. Gieger, Gus Golden, Herefox, HPLustcraft, Hugh J. O’Donnell, Ian Llywelyn Brown, Ian Loo, Inder Rottger, Itamar Friedman, J. Layne Nelson, J.B. Mannon, J.C. Hutchins, Jack Gulick, Jake Reid, James “discord_inc” Fletcher, James Alley, James Ballard, James Champlin, James Husum, James Melzer, Jami Nord, Jared Leisner, Jarrod Coad, Jason Brezinski, Jason Kirk Butkans, Jason Kramer, Jason Leinbach, Jason Maltzen, Jayna Pavlin, Jayson VanBeusichem, Jean Acheson, Jeff Eaton, Jeff Macfee, Jeff Xilon, Jeff Zahnen, Jeffrey Allen Arnett, Jen Watkins, Jenevieve DeFer, Jenica Rogers, jennielf, Jennifer Steen, Jeremiah Robert Craig Shepersky, Jeremy Kostiew, Jeremy Tidwell, Jesse Pudewell, Jessica and Andrew Qualls, JF Paradis, Jill Hughes, Jill Valuet, Jim “Citizen Simian” Henley, Jim & Paula Kirk, Jim Burke in VT, Jim Waters, JLR, Joanne B, Jody Kline, Joe “Gasoline” Czyz, Joe Kavanagh, John Beattie, John Bogart, John Cmar, John D. Burnham, John Geyer/Wulfenbahr Arts, John Idlor, John Lambert, John Rogers, John Sureck, John Tanzer, John-Paul Holubek, Jon Nadeau, Jon Rosebaugh, Jonathan Howard, Jonathan Perrine, Jonathan S. Chance, José Luis Nunes Porfírio, Jose Ramon Vidal,

Joseph Blomquist, Josh Nolan, Josh Thomson, Joshua K. Martin, Joshua Little, JouleLee Perl Ruby Jade, Joy Jakubaitis, JP Sugarbroad, Jukka Koivisto, Justin Yeo, K. Malycha, Kai Nikulainen, Kairam Ahmed Hamdan, Kal Powell, Karen J. Grant, Kat & Jason Romero, Kate Kirby, Kate Malloy, Kathy Rogers, Katrina Lehto, Kaz, Keaton Bauman, Keith West, Kelly (rissatoo) Barnes, Kelly E, Ken Finlayson, Ken Wallo, Keri Orstad, Kevin Chauncey, Kevin Mayz, Kierabot, Kris Deters, Kristin (My Bookish Ways Reviews), Kristina VanHeeswijk, Kurt Ellison, Lady Kayla, Larry Garetto, Laura Kramarsky, Lily Katherine Underwood, Lisa & M3 Sweatt, Lisa Padol, litabeetle, Lord Max Moraes, Lorri-Lynne Brown, Lucas MFZB White, Lutz Ohl, Lyndon Riggall, M. Sean Molley, Maggie G., Manda Collis & Nick Peterson, Marcia Dougherty, Marcus McBolton (Salsa), Marguerite Kenner and Alasdair Stuart, Mark “Buzz” Delsing, Mark Cook, Mark Dwerlkotte, Mark MedievaMonkey, Mark O’Shea, Mark Truman of Magpie Games, Mark Widner, Marshall Vaughan, Martin Joyce, Mary Spila, Matt Barker, Matt Troedson, Matt Zitron & Family, Matthew Scoppetta, Max Temkin, Maxwell A Giesecke, May Claxton, MCpl Doug Hall, Meri and Allan Samuelson, Michael Erb, Michael Godesky, Michael Hill, Michael M. Jones, Michael May, michael orr, Michael Richards, Michael Thompson, Michael Tousignant, Michael Wolfe, Miguel Reyes, Mike “Mortagole” Gorgone, Mike Grace (The Root Of All Evil), Mike Kowalski, Mike Sherwood, Mike ‘txMaddog’ Jacobs, Mike Wickliff, Mikhail McMahon, Miranda “Giggles” Horner, Mitch A. Williams, Mitchell Young, Morgan Ellis, Mur Lafferty, Nancy Feldman, Nathan Alexander, Nathan Blumenfeld, Nestor D. Rodriguez, Nick Bate, Odysseas “Arxonti” Votsis, Owen “Sanguinist” Thompson, Pam Blome, Pamela Shaw, Paolo Carnevali, Pat Knuth, Patricia Bullington-McGuire, Paul A. Tayloe, Paul MacAlpine, Paul Weimer, Peggy Carpenter, Pete Baginski, Pete Sellers, Peter Oberley, Peter Sturdee, Phil Adler, Philip Reed, Philippe “Sanctaphrax” Saner, Poppy Arakelian, Priscilla Spencer, ProducerPaul, Quentin “Q” Hudspeth, Quinn Murphy, Rachel Coleman Finch, Rachel Narow, Ranger Dave Ross, Raymond Terada, Rebecca Woolford, Rhel ná DecVandé, Rich “Safari Jack Tallon” Thomas, Rich Panek, Richard “Cap’n Redshanks” McLean, Richard Monson-Haefel, Rick Jones, Rick Neal, Rick Smith, Rob and Rachel, Robert “Gundato” Pavel, Robert M. Everson, Robert Towell (Ndreare), Ross C. Hardy!, Rowan Cota, Ryan & Beth Perrin, Ryan Del Savio Riley, Ryan E. Mitchell, Ryan Hyland, Ryan Jassil, Ryan Patrick Dull, Ryan Worrell, S. L. Gray, Sabrina Ogden, Sal Manzo, Sally Qwill Janin, Sam Heymans, Sandro Tomasetti, Sarah Brooks, Saxony, Scott Acker, Scott E., Scott Russell Griffith, Sean Fadden, Sean Nittner, Sean O’Brien, Sean R. Jensen, Sean T. DeLap, Sean W, Sean Zimmermann, Sebastian Grey, Seth Swanson, Shai Norton, Shaun D. Burton, Shaun Dignan, Shawna Hogan, Shel Kennon, Sherry Menton, Shervyn, Shoshana Kessock, Simon “Tech Support” Strauss, Simone G. Abigail C. GameRageLive, Stacey Chancellor, Stephen Cheney, Stephen Figgins, Sterling Brucks, Steve Holder, Steve Sturm, Steven K. Watkins, Steven McGowan, Steven Rattelsdorfer, Steven Vest, T I Hely, Tantris Hernandez, Taylor “The Snarky Avenger” Kent, Team Milian, Teesa, Temoore Baber, Tess Snider, Tevel Drinkwater, The Amazing Enigma, The Axelrods, The fastest man wearing a jetpack, thank you, The Gollub Family, The Hayworths, The NY Coopers, The Sotos, The Vockerys, Theron “Tyrone” Teter, Tim “Buzz” Isakson, Tim Pettigrew, Tim Rodriguez of Dice + Food + Lodging, TimTheTree, TJ Robotham, TK Read, Toby Rodgers, Todd Furler, Tom Cadorette, Tom J Allen Jr, Tony Pierson, Tracy Hall, Travis Casey, Travis Lindquist, Vernatia, Victor V., Vidal Bairos, W. Adam Rinehart, W. Schaeffer Tolliver, Warren Nelson, Wil Jordan, Will Ashworth, Will H., William Clucus Woods...yes, “Clucus”, William Hammock, William Huggins, William Pepper, Willow “Dinosaurs and apocalypse? How could I NOT back it?” Wood, wufl, wwwisata, Wythe Marschall, Yurath, Zakharov “Zaksquatch” Sawyer, Zalabar, Zalen Moore, and Zuki.

PART ONE:

INVASION!

CHAPTER ONENEw YORk CITY

Jet Black fell. The wind whistled around him, the cold breath of the city a cutting edge.

Windows whipped by as he plummeted, his jet pack sparking and hissing, crumpled like a soup can in a lion’s mouth—the illusion completed by the series of very real bite marks perforating the metal.

He felt dizzy. No, it was worse than that. He felt empty—like a hollowed out pumpkin.

Beneath him, the crowd gathered, now looking like little more than col-ored pins stuck in corkboard—but as he tumbled end over end through the air, jet pack boosters bursting with loud ragged coughs of worthless flame, the little people got bigger and bigger.

Soon, he would crash amongst them. Into them. On them.Thoughts escaped him like slippery snakes and what the assassin did to

him—did to his mind—left him lost and confused.But one word—a name—continued to rise up out of the fog:Sally.He was going to crash in the middle of all those people, into all those sup-

porters and dissenters of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but worst of all, he was going to fall in front of Sally Slick. That was the heck of it.

Sally!

8 CHUCK WENDIG

He wanted to impress her.The heroes of the Century Club caught wind of the assassination attempt

on FDR’s life just this morning, but that’s how these things always went: life did not afford the hero easy answers or comfortable timelines. Everything was always by the scrape of the teeth, by one’s chinniest of chin hairs—most heroes not only expected it, but learned to thrive on it.

The campaign scheduled Roosevelt to speak outside the brand spanking new Empire State Building, a shining spire of metal and glass and human ingenuity that was like an extension of man’s own reach, reaching for the stars and the heavens beyond. There, Roosevelt planned to outline the tenets of his Second New Deal, bolstered as he was by a supportive Congress.

The message came in scrawled on a ratty slip of fabric—The President is going to die.They mobilized fast. Jet, Sally Slick, Mack Silver, and the Grey Ghost—

more than enough of a team to take down any cold-blooded assassin. Little time remained, affording them no chance to scope out the place

beforehand. The President had already arrived, had already wheeled himself onto the dais flanked as he was by Eleanor and all his supporters in their dark suits and broad-brimmed hats, shuffling papers in his lap as he was wont to do.

Sally said she’d stick to the stage. Mack would canvass the crowd. Ghost planned to check the tunnels beneath.

Jet’s job? To go up. Observation deck of the Empire State. Mack said it would afford him a powerful vantage point over the crowd—somehow, Mack appointed himself de facto leader of their little squad, even though Jet had been there longer and Mack was always in and out, sometimes disappear-ing in his plane for months.

To Jet, it felt like—well, it felt like dismissal. Up top, he wasn’t going to be able to see squat. Just people like ants and cars like little bricks and once again he’d be out of the action and set aside like a child, a child who might acci-dentally knock over somebody’s coffee cup or spill a saucer of milk. Great. Wonderful.

Aces.

9DINOCALYPSE NOW

But hey, he was a team player. He did what he had to do.So he took to the skies as FDR began to speak and he did a steady orbit

around the circumference of the building, rising in slow spirals as he ascended. The building was a marvelous feat of architecture—6500 windows, each a glimpse into another world. Or would be, if most of the building were occu-pied. Way Jet heard it, the building couldn’t fill its offices. Lingering effects of the busted economy. Not a lot of desire and so the building sat mostly empty.

So there Jet was, flying circles around the building, gazing into empty office after empty office and—

Movement.A dark shape, just a shadow, behind one of the windows.Time to get a closer look.Jet pivoted his hips, cocked the wings of his jet pack just so, and hovered

there in front of the window, peering past the bright gray reflection of the city and sun.

Nothing.He planted his hands against the glass and eased his way alongside the

building, the way a swimmer might pull himself along the edge of a pool.There!In another window, a tall shape—black suit, broad-brim hat. Jet’s heart leapt in his chest like a snake-bit stallion. Could this be the

assassin? He pulled his wrist radio to his mouth, prepared to tune to Sally’s fre-

quency and—yelling over the din of his portable jet engine, an engine that should burn his legs to crispy cinder-black matchsticks but didn’t thanks to Sally’s own ingenious suit design—tell her about what he’s seeing. But a little voice inside him gave him pause.

You don’t know what you’re looking at, pal, Jet thought. Could be anything or anyone. Janitor. Sales agent. One of the Secret Service men keeping an eye on the place.

A trickier voice chimed in, too:And if this is the assassin, then you can handle it. It’s just one killer. Finally

you can show them why you belong on this team. You can show Sally why you matter.

Spirit of the Century™ is the pulp roleplaying game based on the award-winning Fate system that started it all. If you enjoyed Dinocalypse Now and you’re looking to tell your own tales of adventure from the Century Club, this is the game for you.

Character creation can be done in just a few minutes or expanded to take up an evening. Adventure design is a snap with three methods for creat-ing relevant, flavorful, player-focused stories at a moment’s notice.

Spirit can be played as a fun pick-up game requiring little preparation or as a longer term game delivering evenings of entertainment. All you need to play are some friends, some dice, and the game book.

Pick up your copy of Spirit of the Century™ today at our website—or wherever roleplaying games are sold.

www.evilhat.comISBN 978-0-9771534-0-4

™

2-5 PlayersAges 8 and upPlays in 30 minutes

www.evilhat.comISBN 978-1-61317-008-3

Find out more at www.racetoadventuregame.com — and follow the race on twitter: @racetoadventure

COmINg SOON:

THE SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY™ ExPlORATION gAmE

Every year, a worldwide scav-enger hunt brings together daring adventurers from all parts of the globe—members of the famed Century Club. Their adventures are filled with danger, excitement, and wonder! Centurions race to be the first to complete every mission, stamp their passports, and cross the Century Club finish line. Will this be your year to win?

Race to Adventure!™ is easy to learn and quick to play. Players take turns selecting exciting items to help them on their quest, like the Jet Pack, Zeppelin, or Lightning Gun! Then everyone moves and takes action at exotic locations.

Be the first player to collect every stamp on your passport, return to the Century Club, and declare victory!

THE dRESdEN FIlES ROlEPlAYINg gAmE

The award-winning Dresden Files Roleplaying Game, based on the New York Times best-selling series of nov-els by Jim Butcher, does everything you’d want a game based on your favorite books to do.

In this two-volume set, you’ll find a game system that really “gets it”— whether it’s producing the big scares and big laughs of the most exciting moments of the novels, or provid-ing practically any kind of characters you’d want to play. They’ll leap right off the page and into your game!

Wizards sling spells that feel every bit as real as Harry Dresden’s magic—and just as dangerous. But if spell-slinging’s not your bag, the full range of creatures from Jim Butcher’s stories await you: werewolves, vampires, holy warriors, changelings, psychics—even ordinary people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It’s time you join Harry in fighting the good fight against the rising tide of darkness.

What’s your story?

The Dresden Files RPG: Volume 1 – Your Story

ISBN 978-0-9771534-7-3

The Dresden Files RPG: Volume 2 – Our World

ISBN 978-0-9771534-8-0

ABOUT THE PUBlISHER

Evil Hat Productions believes that passion makes the best stuff—from games to novels and more. It’s our passion that’s made Evil Hat what it is today: an award-winning publisher of games and, now, fiction. We aim to give you the best of experiences—full of laughter, story-telling, and memora-ble moments—whether you’re sitting down with a good book, rolling some dice, or playing a card.

We started, simply, as gamers, running games at small conventions under the Evil Hat banner, making face to face connections with some of the same people who’ve worked on these products. Player to player, gamer to gamer, we’ve passed our passion along to the gaming community that has already given us so many years of lasting entertainment.

Today, we are turning that passion into fiction based on the games we love. And, much like the games we make and play, we need and want you to be part of that process.

That’s the Evil Hat mission, and we’re happy to have you along on it.You can find out more about us and the stuff we make at www.evilhat.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chuck Wendig’s novel Double Dead hit shelves in November, 2011. His second novel, Blackbirds, is already getting rave reviews prior to its publication in April of this year. Its sequel, Mockingbird, pub-lishes at the end of 2012.

He, along with writing part-ner Lance Weiler, is an alum of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, showed at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producers Ted Hope and Anne Carey. Together they co-wrote the digital transmedia drama Collapsus, which was nominated for an International Digital Emmy and a Games 4 Change award.

Chuck has contributed over two million words to the game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP). He is a frequent contributor to The Escapist, writing about games and pop culture.

He currently lives in Pennsylvania with wife, dog, and newborn son. You can find him at his website, terribleminds.com, where he is busy talking about storytelling and the art and craft of writing. You can find his writing advice collected in e-books such as Confessions of a Freelance Penmonkey and 500 Ways to be a Better Writer.